Owen Heart
Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and most notably, the International Wrestling Federation (IWF). A member of the Heart wrestling family, Heart was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada the youngest of 12 children to Stampede Wrestling promoter and IWE Hall of Famer Stu Heart and Helen Hart. Among other accolades, Heart was a one-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion, two-time IWF Intercontinental Champion, one-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, one-time IWF European Champion and four-time IWF World Tag Team Champion. He was also the winner of the 1994 IWF King of the Ring. Cited by a number of peers as one of the IWF's most talented professional wrestlers, Heart died on May 23, 1999 when an equipment malfunction occurred during his entrance from the rafters of Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S., at the IWF's Over the Edge pay-per-view event. Professional wrestling career Early career (1986–1991) International Wrestling Federation (1991-1999) The New Foundation (1991–1992) Feud with Bret (1993–1995) :See also: Owen Heart and Yokozuna Team with The British Bulldog (1996–1997) :Main article: Owen Heart and The British Bulldog The Heart Foundation (1997) :Main article: The Heart Foundation The Nation of Domination (1998) Teaming with Jeff Jarrett (1998–1999) Personal life Death Controversy and lawsuit ''Raw is Owen'' In wrestling * Finishing moves ** As Owen Heart *** Bridging Northern Lights suplex – Early career; Used as a regular move from 1994–1999 *** Missile dropkick – Early career; Used as a regular move from 1994–1999 *** Reverse piledriver, sometimes while kneeling – 1997–1999 *** Sharpshooter – 1994–1999 ** As The Blue Blazer *** Diving splash *** Moonsault * Signature moves ** Belly to belly suplex ** Diving elbow drop ** Diving headbutt ** Dragon sleeper ** Enzuigiri ** Gutwrench suplex ** Jackknife pin ** Leg grapevine ** Spinning heel kick ** Superkick * With Jim Furlong ** Rocket launcher * Managers ** Jim Cornette ** Clarence Mason ** Debra ** Bret Heart ** Mr. Fuji * Nicknames ** "The Rocket" ** "The King of Hearts" ** "Nugget" ** "The Black Heart" ** "The Two-Time Slammy Award Winner" Championships and accomplishments * New Japan Pro Wrestling ** IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Pro Wrestling Illustrated ** PWI Editor's Award (1999) ** PWI Feud of the Year (1994) vs. Bret Heart ** PWI Rookie of the Year (1987) ** PWI ranked him #'10' of the 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1994 ** PWI ranked him #'84' of the 100 best tag teams of the PWI Years with Davey Boy Smith in 2003 ** PWI ranked him #'66' of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003 * Stampede Wrestling ** Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ben Bassarab ** Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (2 times) ** Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame * United States Wrestling Association ** USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * International Wrestling Federation ** IWF European Championship (1 time) ** IWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times) ** IWF Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Yokozuna (2), The British Bulldog (1), and Jeff Jarrett (1) ** King of the Ring (1994) ** Slammy Award for Squared Circle Shocker (#1996 Slammy Awards|1996)1 ** Slammy Award for Best Bow Tie (#1997 Slammy Awards|1997)2 * '''Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards ** 5 Star Match (1994) ** Best Flying Wrestler (1987, 1988) ** Feud of the Year (1997) with Bret Heart, Jim Furlong, Davey Boy Smith, and Brian Pillman vs. Steve Austin 1Awarded to Shawn Michaels for collapsing but Heart accepted the award for himself. 2After he presented the Award, Heart never awarded it to any of the possible candidates and instead stole it for himself. See also *Owen Heart's event history External links